I would like to thank the school and especially instructor Shafie for helping me obtain my Dutch driving licence. The training car was excellent, and throughout my lessons Shafie was professional, patient, and respectful.
However, I also want to provide honest feedback about my experience.
This was my third driving school. Before joining, I had already completed around 40 lessons with two other schools and expected that approximately 10 additional lessons would be enough to prepare for the practical exam. After my assessment, I was advised to take 20 lessons. After completing those 20 lessons, I was told I was still not ready and needed another 10. The same happened again, resulting in a total of 48 lessons.
As a student, this was a significant financial investment. What concerned me most was that even four days before my exam, I still did not feel confident based on the feedback I was receiving that I was ready to pass.
That weekend, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I spent considerable time researching Eindhoven exam routes, common mistakes, and practical exam tips through YouTube and other online resources. The impact was enormous. My understanding and confidence improved dramatically in just one weekend.
When I returned for lessons on Monday, even my instructor noticed a major improvement in my driving. The next day, I passed my driving exam on the first attempt.
This experience left me wondering whether there is room to improve the school's teaching methodology. If a student can make such a significant leap in confidence and exam readiness through a weekend of self-study, perhaps more emphasis could be placed on teaching exam strategy, independent learning resources, and confidence-building earlier in the process.
I would also like to mention two additional concerns:
On several occasions, the lesson effectively started a few minutes late because the instructor arrived later than scheduled. However, the recorded Begintijd remained the original scheduled start time. In contrast, when a lesson continued beyond the planned time, those additional minutes were recorded. I believe lesson times should always reflect the actual start and end times for full transparency.
I requested helpful YouTube videos and learning materials earlier in my training but did not receive any recommendations because the available materials were mainly in Dutch. As an international student, access to English-language resources would have been extremely valuable and might have helped me progress faster.
In summary, I am grateful for the support, the quality of the vehicle, and Shafie's professionalism. However, I believe the school should review how student readiness is assessed, improve transparency around lesson durations and additional lesson recommendations, and provide better learning resources for international students. My success ultimately came from a combination of the lessons and a significant amount of self-study, and I believe future students would benefit if that self-study component were integrated into the learning process much earlier.
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